Zzzzzzzz.......

 

Current Mood : Lighter...

 

Felt a bit better today, so I tore up the space-fabric duvet cover I bought in last year's yard sales and made a slipcover for the back of my computer chair, and a pillowcase for the seat cushion. Much better. I always hated how the fabric slipped and slid. Now, it's shaped to fit the chair, with a few easily removed stitches should I end up with another one, and it ain't going anywhere, except the washer.

 

And it makes me happier than I'd have thought to have KJ, my old sewing machine, up and working in the dining area. Haven't gone near Brody all week, but I kinda figured that'd happen, with Dearest Son home all week. I just don't get as much done.

 

Tonight, we visited the DIL's, and retrieved the Blazer, so we can work on it here. I'll be so glad when Beloved doesn't have to worry about it anymore. I'm sure DFIL feels the same !

 

Although I rented it twice, I never quite got around to watching 21 Grams until I saw it on Hulu.com tonight. So I'm kinda depressed. I'd heard the '21 grams' theory as fact (the difference in weight between a live body and a dead one is exactly 21 grams), so I was a bit disappointed to learn it's a fallacy. The movie doesn't say that, but some of the reviews do.

 

So I'm sort of in a mood. Maybe my soul's a lightweight...

Ugh day...

 

Current Mood : Not well.

 

Oogh. We are definitely into the monsoon season around here, and that plays h#ll with my sinuses. I am not a well woman today. Hope to catch you tomorrow, all I've done all day is watch the Law & Order second season DVDs we rented last Friday. Ugh. I can only image how much more ill I'd be if we'd rented Special Victims Unit episodes by mistake...

New fabric !

 

Current Mood : In motion

Spent on fabric and pattern today : $3.16

 

Was just everywhere today ! Last time I was in Hancock Fabrics, I found a lovely print of women's clothes, almost fashion mannequin-like, and small enough to use as at least the skirt on some Barbie clothes. But at $7./yd, I was able to put it back. Until I found my expires-Wednesday Hancock's ad, which includes a 40% off any one fabric cutting coupon ! So I was there today, and scored a half yard. Wouldn't you know it, there's a white on black version of the same fabric - the piece I got today is black on white. Oh, well. When one ad expires, another's soon to arrive ! I also scored yet another American Girl clone pattern, since McCalls' were on sale for 99c. This one has a trench coat ! Looked it up yesterday - that's why the photo's there.

 

I swear, all the whining I was doing about there being no new doll patterns except for AG dolls... is true, but I've sure bought a bunch of ‘em. Shoot, last month, I was on one of my Holy Doll Crusades to find a brunette ‘My Disney Girl' doll, but those things are almost as expensive as AGs ! Even the bidding on $22. Battat ‘Our Generation' Target dolls gets stupid, with used ones going for over $15. plus shipping. Ridiculous. So I had to let it go. Besides, with yard sale season just starting...

 

The question could be asked, ‘If they're $22. brand-new, Dorrie, why don'tcha just buy one ? ‘ and it's a good question, too. Answer is, our store has an abundance of blondes and redheads and lovely AA girls. I've yet to see a brunette one. Otherwise, I'd stay the heck away from eBay, they're a trap !

 

I confess, I haven't been checking Craigslist.org like I used to. But with Molly down, it was just frustrating myself for no reason. But I'm seeing ads for yard sales in the bigger cities, so yard sale season will soon bloom. I can't wait for this year !

 

Since Salvation Army's in the same strip, I stopped, but it was its usual waste-of-time self. I don't know why I still bother. I also hit the ‘turned the lights off on us' thrift for the first time since - wow. You'd think they'd have had a few donations since then, especially since I haven't been there in over a month, but it was almost exactly the same. Same dolls and stuff, same clothes - next to no toys or misc. stuff, books still neglected on the same shelves, and the small-toy grab bag rack was so depleted, it was shoved into the back, three baggies still clinging hopefully to it. Sad. Evidently, I'm not the only one who has issues with that store.

 

Ran my errands, did groceries, came home. And looked up ‘china marker removal'. Turns out that a regular rubber eraser does the trick, and it did. Ariel II's arm is ink-free, and with a bit of water, it even rubbed off the paint mark. I'll have to remember that trick !

Cry for the dolls...

 

Current Mood : Lazy

Spent on dolls today : $1.07

 

Dearest Son and I sort of spun around the house, and once Beloved Hubby was home, we played video games and just enjoyed the day. Then, DFIL came by to pick Dearest up ‘til Wednesday morning - yes, he just came home Sunday morning, but the pizza delivery business is a cruel one, the schedules even more so. We'll have Dearest to ourselves this weekend, too. Hopefully, I'll be able to get him back on schedule.

 

Next thing I knew, we were headed to the City, to check out a potential parts vehicle for DFIL's truck. Fine with me, we took Molly-car and made a night of it. I even got to visit a thrift store, and found a near-desperate Ariel Little Disney Princess doll. Poor thing. She was nude, her hair still had the tiny red rubber band in it, but it was tangled, and she was depressingly dirty. Of course, I already have a butchered-hair LDP Ariel, and have turned down several potential replacements, but this one just needed me. All else failed, I reasoned, I could do a head-swap with my wrecked-hair doll, and donate the other. It was all fooling m'self, I just wanted this one. And I'm probably keeping my original Ariel, I'll just reroot her. So there.

 

Turned out, Ariel II cleaned up pretty well, except for a spot that looks like paint, and the china marker that was used for her price marking. Unfortunately, the mark was on her arm instead of, say, her sole or butt. (sigh) I saw lots of unfortunate dolls at that thrift. Several Battat AG-clones, one with freckles so dark, they looked like moles on her dark tanned ‘skin', contrasting oddly with her near-white blonde hair, a Meritus AG clone that had even worse hair than the Battats I've seen, and numerous other baby and todder dolls, including two LDP Cinderellas. Poor things.

 

There was a good-sized Bag O' Barbies in the display case, but $17. was a bit much, and I couldn't see very much - just several Princess-themed ones and a Blaine guy. Beloved offered to get it for me if I wanted it, but I felt bad enough getting another doll as it was ! I hoped the others would find better homes than they left.

 

Sometimes being a doll hobbyist is a bit depressing...

Dearest's home !

 

Current Mood : Loopy

 

With Dearest Son home from his grandparents', it's like Spring Break is starting up in earnest. I'm having trouble remembering that I don't have to be up at 5am for a shower, nor do I need to coordinate a grocery run and mailbox drop (Nielsen books) with Beloved Hubby. Lot has changed in a few days !

 

I'm a bit late getting my Nielsen books in the mail. Shoulda mailed ‘em Friday. With us turning off the TV back in '05 or so, it didn't take much to fill them out. And now I can spend the $5. they gave me in earnest... like I haven't been spending more than that lately !

 

Looked up the directions for the Jr. Monopoly DPrincess game - it's only supposed to have 24 castles and four stands, so I probably got two or more sets combined. I should wash ‘em up, and use ‘em to top cupcakes at Dearest's next school party.

 

Got tired of the '08 yard sale space-fabric duvet cover falling off my computer chair and tangling in the wheels, so I pinned it together and figured out where to cut and sew it so that one piece will cozy around the chair's back, and won't fall to the sides, and the rest will hold the cushions in the chair's seat, and also won't fall. I'll probably sew it tomorrow - I'm kind of loopy today, and don't trust my sewing capabilities.

Beloved made me a thread stand !

Current Mood : Thrilled

 

Today, Beloved Hubby discovered the magic of instant video rental online. He's been wanting to see a film he enjoyed back in the 80s, and no video stores around here have it. Surprisingly, Amazon.com did, and it could be downloaded for a week's ‘rental' for $2.99, or ‘purchased' as a download for $9.99. We rented it, and we actually have access for a month, for some reason. Either way, we enjoyed it quite a bit !

 

As we watched, I kept remembering this ad where a traveler is checking into a middle-of-nowhere hotel. He asks what's on TV, and the bored desk clerk says, ‘Every movie, ever made, in every language'. Stunned, he asks is that possible, and it cuts to the company's logo. Wow, but are we ever close to that !

 

Oh, hey ! I found it ! Qwest, from 1999.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZ9qcp6Lcno .

 

It's funny that half the comments on that say we're getting closer to that ideal, the other half say the promise is still decades away.

 

Anyway. Molly-chan now has sparkling new tires, and she handles like a Formula-1 racecar, or at least, how I imagine one does. Did you know there's such a thing as Hot Wheels brand rims ? It's true ! Mattel's licensed ‘em. And the ones the tire place had on display look just like the ones on real HWheels toys. Goss knows, I've picked up enough of Dearest Son's to know. I rather liked the idea of tooling around on HW rims, like I'm driving a tiny toy car. Just not enough to fork over for ‘em. Molly came with star-shaped Mazda ones I really like, so she still has those. According to the salesman I spoke with - he gave me a shiny new tire gauge for my glove box - they're quite popular, and have been out for a while. There's a new model every year or so. Imagine that !

 

Once home, we just kinda relaxed for the balance of the day. I cleaned up from yesterday's patch/sewing job on Dearest's pants, and Beloved asked to see the directions for the thread stand. Y'see, Hancock Fabrics puts these huge thread cones on sale for $2. every so often, and a year or two ago, I bought one, figuring that I'd be set for white thread - the color I run out of most often - for a while. Unfortunately, the cone was too big for KJ, my old mechanical machine, and I never got ‘round to buying a stand. It also seemed kinda silly to shell out $8. for a plastic stand to use up a $2. purchase.

 

And Brody is even pickier about the thread sizes he can use, so I studied the thread stands out there for sale, and found them ridiculously simple. Found illustrated directions to make yer own on Instructables.com - http://www.instructables.com/id/Thread-Stand-for-Sewing-Machines/  and asked if I could borrow a few tools. Well, Beloved got a bit bored and ended up making it for me while I retrieved my prescriptions - and it works perfectly ! Empty, it looks like a minimalist sculpture, and the thread part can tuck under KJ's cover between uses, so it won't get dusty. Used it to wind a bobbin for Brody, and I hope to test that out Monday. I've heard cone thread is thinner, so we'll have to see if it can work. And if using KJ as a big SideWinder (a $30. bobbin winder device) for Brody will work, too.

Spring Break '09 !

Current Mood : Thrilled !

Spent on sewing misc. : $3.28

Spent on misc. stuff : $ 1.82

 

Well, today's the start of Dearest's Spring Break. He's home for a week, until Monday March 23^rd. Hope we both survive !

 

I got to have some fun with Molly this morning ! Hit a yard sale/estate sale, and snagged this neat 'Sewing Susan' needle card, a package of never-used hand towels (great for embroidery practice !) for a quarter, a hardback copy of Memoirs of a Geisha for 50c, a softbound vintage photo book of Paris for 25c, and a magnetic trash bag holder for a buck. Looks like it was made from quilted placemats. I'm thinking of using it as a thread catcher near Brody. Right now, I'm using an empty tissue box.

 

The sale was over by GoodWill, and even though we were just there, I went again. Went ahead and picked up the Disney Princess Junior Monopoly game for a buck, and got a car-shaped new t-shirt for Dearest for 50c. Mostly, I just enjoyed digging and prowling, and taking my time doing so !

 

From there, I hit Hancock Fabrics, and again, just enjoyed. Got the pirate-map fat quarter, and it was still on sale ! I tell ya, while I love the pre-packaged FQs, I hate paying $2. each for ‘em. So paying $1.19 for this one on sale was nice ! I'm thinking of trying embroidering on ribbons for Dearest's end of school party, and I liked the wide black one for his Bat-cape, so while those 30-yard misc. grab bags of ribbon were half-off, I snagged one. That deep green length I saw in that bag along with the wide black one kinda cinched the deal. Can't go wrong with more green ribbon - and a bunch more to experiment on ! - for a buck.

 

This'll surprise you - on the half-off shelves were some DPrincess pencil boxes. On markdown, they'd be only $1.50. But I left them there. Couldn't think of a way to use one, much less the two designs they had, so I didn't buy one. Amazing, or an indication of how crowded the lab's getting ? (lol)

 

Started to feel a sinus headache building, so I brought us in early. Beloved, when he came home for lunch, insisted that I lie down - and the next thing I knew, it was almost 2pm ! Aaargh. But I felt much better. He called at 2:30, to make sure I was awake for the bus. He thinks of everything.

 

Got tired of moving the pile of wrecked and outgrown pants around, so I started measuring and cutting and picking out inseams. While it would have been nice to repair all four, it ended up taking four pair of ‘em to salvage two. But the two I ended up with - one black and red, the other grey and navy - look good, and Dearest already wants to wear them. And it felt good to get some use out of fabric I couldn't even use for rags, since it's not very absorbent. There wasn't even much left for embroidery practice, but I'll get it stored tomorrow, have it ready.

 

Beloved said I didn't have to do this ‘extreme mending', that we can clearly afford new clothes for Dearest when he needed ‘em, but I wanted to see if I could do it. And really, I know exactly why I insisted on it. I was reading an article that had a lot of clickable links, all about conserving, reusing, and such. One of the links was about stretching the use on kids' clothes. I read it... and it was all about adding a ruffle to the hems of jeans, adding lace to the bottom of skirts... nothing at all about how to lengthen boys' clothes. Every last tip was about altering girls' clothes.

 

But the article wasn't about girls wear, specifically - it had a general ‘how to alter kids' clothes' headline. So I have no idea why it neglected boys' wear. Did the author not want to make the effort if the result wasn't gonna be pretty ? Does no one ever need to lengthen boy clothes ? Or are they so tough on clothes it's assumed the clothes will be destroyed and outgrown at the same time ? Well, the four I altered, three were, but I still can get some more use out of ‘em. Does it devalue boys, or girls ? It just ticked me off, no matter if it was an oversight or an on-purpose slur.

 

It's just like the Midge case. Let me read an article in a doll book about how ‘mere sidekick' Midge doesn't have a special doll case, and I'll own two within a week. Link an article that ignores an entire gender, and I'll bust my bobbins to do it myself, just to prove... something to someone, I don't know...

 

Beloved's home this weekend, but with all the car shuffling - and Molly's new tires tomorrow morning ! - we won't be on any more wild spending sprees. The DP Jr. Monopoly game turned out to be mostly intact, but I have no idea why the game requires 60 plastic castles in four colors. The board's only half the size of a normal Monopoly game. And while the box says ‘for two to four players', there's eight ‘stands' for the character figures. There was tons of pastel princess money and Chance cards, and eight cardboard Princesses to play with. All I have to do now is go to Hasbro and download the directions. Dearest wants to play while he's home this week.

I feel like dancing... with my car !

 

Current Mood : Joyous !

Current Image Notes : Here's a paper-doll version of the Aurora costume. I don't own the paper doll, but I found it online and played with it ! Wheeee !

 

Molly is home ! Oh, it's a major adjustment to drive her - I now have to push the clutch all the way to the floor to change gears, and sometimes first and fourth are a bit hard to find, but I'm sure I'll adjust ! I can't wait to take her out tomorrow morning !

 

Not sure if there's a flea market to go to, though. This weekend's on the business card they hand out, but it's not on the Fairgrounds website schedule until next weekend. But that's OK - there's GoodWill, Hancock Fabrics, groceries, prescriptions, the library... lots of errands to run.

 

While we were out this morning, I finally found the tiny screw-eyes I've been looking for. Amazing that Hobby Lobby, with its wall of jewelry findings didn't have any at all, but Ace Hardware did. Snagged a pack of 14 at 7/16ths of an inch for less than $2. Once we (including Molly !!) were home, I applied two to the backs of some Happy Meal Barbie toys - perfect ! Now I just have to write it up for the websites - mine and the crafty one that likes to pay $15. per !

 

I also made my peace with Target's Archer Farms rice crackers. They'd been priced back ‘down' to $6.99, and there was a 15% off sale. Beloved Hubby insisted on getting two, and one is half (alright, all right, 3/4ths) empty already. The ones from the Asian market in the town-next-door just weren't as good, and frankly, were kind of a waste of money. I didn't like ‘em at all.

All my new (to me) stuff !

 

Current Mood : Still a bit dazed, actually...

Current Image Notes : Here's the Barbie Country Living Home, a Ballerina Barbie wearing 'Princess Aurora', and she's on a MAD stand. Happy ! 

 

I seriously got bored enough yesterday to do up all the dishes. I rather dazedly spun around the house all day today, waiting for the repair shop to call. I say ‘dazedly' because I've been tired and light-headed since I woke up, and even sipping soda all day hasn't alleviated it. I actually took a nap this afternoon because if I sat still for ten minutes, I fell asleep anyway, so I may as well lay down and not screw my neck up nodding off in my office chair. I knew better than to even try sewing anything. Beloved Hubby reported feeling much the same, and the weather wasn't cooperating much, so he was home early, as worn and tired as I was, only moreso. So I put him to bed under several blankets, hoping he hasn't caught a cold or worse.

 

Dearest Son came home, and darned if he didn't crash right on the living room floor, playing with his Lego town sets. He and Beloved napped for several hours. Could explain why Dearest's been in a mood for the last couple days. I blame Daylight Savings Time. I blame DST for everything. Foot fungus ? DST. Higher prescription costs ? DST. General lack of faith in the current infrastructure and ongoing socioeconomic political systems ?  Oh, yes. 

 

So I did silly, repetitive things, like sort through the small mountain of Dearest's school papers, and replacing the front-door poinsettia artwork he did at school in January with this month's construction paper US flag. Got the trash ready, and cleaned off the dining room table. Had a bit of a great idea yesterday, so I started implementing it today. Needed the table first, though.

 

While sorting through the drifts and piles of clean laundry, I started putting aside damaged and outgrown clothes of Dearest's. Most of the sweat pants still fit him at the waist, but they're too short. And a couple have torn where I patched ‘em. Two of the new pairs that fit him well are already damaged. I soon had a ‘good enough to donate to his school' pile and a ‘wreckage' pile. Seeing all those pants made me think. One of his favorite pair of sweatpants ever had two colors on one leg, three on the other. What if I cut off the damaged areas of all the outgrowns, and patched them together, making them longer and almost new again ? I could do it. Could even do so on ‘KJ', my non-embroidery machine, right at the kitchen table. Just need to measure either a pair that fits him, or his inseam before I start. And hey, even if it takes four pair to repair two, that's two he gets to wear a bit longer. And I can use the damaged pieces and leftover scraps to test embroidery on. Win all around !

 

So I got the table cleaned off, and retrieved KJ from my closet. I hope to do some sewing tomorrow. I also owe Dearest a Bat-cape, and I found a great free ‘pattern' for one on this site -> http://blog.creativekismet.com/2009/02/26/super-easy-super-fast-super-hero-capes/  <- We bought a yard of black fabric with great flow back when we went on the pattern binge last month, it's been waiting on me ever since. I like the Velcro ^TM ribbon tabs - they'll tear off if he gets caught on something. Goss knows I got plenty of ribbon. I'm thinking of making two, since I have a yard, and that way, either Beloved or I can play with him. Wheee !

 

Molly's shop didn't call until nearly 5pm. Machine shop's backed up, so she won't be finished today. Should be ready around lunchtime tomorrow. I kinda expected that, but I was still a bit disappointed. Even though I wasn't planning on really going anywhere ‘til Friday anyway. I still miss my Molly ! At least Beloved got to rest, instead of hopping up to take care of it.

 

And I didn't even have to cook dinner. DFIL says Bonnie-truck is performing wonderfully, and it felt great to get back to work. Everyone missed him, and was glad to have him back on the job. He even brought dinner for us, subs from the restaurant where he works. He and Beloved chatted for a while about the Blazer's repairs while I sniffed the heavenly essence of roast beef and provolone cheese. He remembered my favorite !

 

After he left, I remembered to check mail. The needles I'd ordered from AllStitch.com were already here ! That was fast. Everything was attractively packaged and packed well - and I loved the sample book of stabilizers they sent for free ! Dearest may have loved it more, he liked to touch the textures and listen to the explanations of what each one - tear-away, wash away, leave-in - did, and how they'd be used. I may not ever use the samples (heck, I like to touch and leaf through them too !), but I know where to order more !

 

I find myself repeatedly amazed at how crafty, clever, and sometimes downright sneakily ME sellers market their stuff...

 

Stitching daydreams...

Current Mood : Aaaaugh, how did I get so far behind so quickly ??! 

Current Image Notes : When I figure it out, one day, I'll make my own designs, and a heart with a Saturn-like ‘orbiter' will be high up on the list ! Here's a quick and dirty representation of what I want...

 

Well, we solved DFIL's vehicle problems - we bought a small truck as a spare car today and he'll borrow it until we get his Blazer fixed. Which should happen in about a month's time. He'll go back to work tomorrow, and we'll have weekends to repair the Blazer. He's paying for insurance and the parts, we're providing labor. And now the onus is on us to get his truck fixed so we can get our new-to-us ‘Bonnie' back.

 

You may wonder why we're busting butt to solve the DIL's problems. Well, first off, no one else is. Secondly, they're panicking, and if we don't start them off, nothing will get done but more panicking, which isn't good for anyone's health. Third, if DFIL loses his job, that means the mortgage doesn't get paid. And guess who they'll have to move in with ? I think now you see why butt that isn't theirs is getting busted.

 

Still, it's pretty frustrating, to spend your whole weekend either out looking or out repairing vehicles for someone else. And there's more to come. But I'm trying to help any way I can so that we don't have boarders again. Especially since they've picked up a boarder of their own, and I can't stand the guy. No way is he ever moving in here !

 

Ordinarily, I'd be ticked that we bought a whole new truck for him to use when I've been marooned at home since we turned in the black truck. But since I hope to get Molly-chan back from the repair shop tomorrow, I can deal. But Beloved already knows I have a full agenda for Friday - flea markets, thrift stores, Hancock Fabrics...I may be out from Dearest Son's bus pick-up to his bus drop-off, and he's fine with it.

 

Otherwise, all's well, but we are seriously broke. All this car-trading and repair work has left us at ground level in our wallets and checkbooks. Even the business one is tapped out. But Beloved returned to work this afternoon, and he's had several calls for bids, so we should be OK. All else fails, I just tighten the belts and use what we got. It's not like I spent buckets of cash when I had Molly before !

 

And it's not like I don't have enough to keep me busy. Why, housework alone would keep an interested person engaged for at least a week ! But I don't see me getting that bored...